


Hello, Stranger

by kittensuh



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Barista Moon Taeil, Chromesthesia, DJ Suh Youngho | Johnny, Drunken Shenanigans, Fluff, Love at first listen, M/M, Synesthesia, just two dumb boys, taeil feels very intensely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:29:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22439545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittensuh/pseuds/kittensuh
Summary: John-D has a voice like navy blue waves casted in the ocean and rolling over his body. Taeil wants to jump in and drown in the feeling.
Relationships: Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 15
Kudos: 143
Collections: Johnny Fic Fest: Round One





	Hello, Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooooo this is my work for the Johnny Fic Fest! I got prompt #JS131 and fell in love with it. I hope that I was able to convey all those sickly sweet emotions and yes, that intensity is characteristic! This is kind of a love letter written through Taeil to Johnny and I really wanted that to come across so hopefully it did. Please enjoy :3

“As always, with love here from 73.5 FM, thank you for listening and spending your night with me.  _ Johnny’s Station _ will see you tomorrow night at 7 PM KST. Night night.” 

Leaning back onto the bus seat, Taeil opens his eyes for the first time the entire trip. The giddy closing advertisement with its bubbly sounds and its loud, attention grabbing narrative does nothing for Taeil and he lets the seconds tick on until the radio station clicks and another person’s hour begins on the local university’s radio show. Taeil graduated two years prior, but  _ Johnny’s Station  _ is unlike anything he’s ever heard. 

For Taeil, that’s pretty hard to find. 

Stumbling upon  _ Johnny’s station  _ was entirely accidental. He, walking around one night to fight off some stress, was punching through the radio stations on his radio app. It was all stupid sad music, or some mind numb pop crap, or something Taeil just wasn’t in the mood to hear. He was about ready to pull his earphones out and throw the whole phone into the road when he moved up one more station. 

“- a new-ish one I’m kind of obsessed with.  _ Purple  _ is one of those songs that really transforms you through the sound of it and how it does make you think of purple when you hear it! SOHLHEE’s voice is pure softness and it’s the perfect pop ballad to take us into the night. Here is SOHLHEE’s  _ Purple.”  _

It didn’t matter what the song said, what it meant, what else had ever happened in Taeil’s life up until that moment. It was the sound of the announcer’s voice, actually, that made Taeil stop suddenly and stand on the side of the road. 

His synesthesia has always been something he just has. Chromesthesia, to be exact. It isn’t life altering or even all that sense altering to him personally, it mainly happens with certain songs that really make him feel something or really sound pleasant to his palette. Of course, he has a Spotify playlist with all of the songs that make him feel that way and he hides them off for when he can stand to sit back and watch his songs. 

This, however, as it was happening, was jarring to Taeil. He had never experienced a voice that made him feel anything besides that of his own mother’s. She always exhibited a soft pink trail like a wave with an occasional purpling crest if she felt bad some days. Taeil has never had another human voice meet him through colors, as if the sound of this complete stranger’s voice was a melody in his ear. 

He saw a deep, royal blue silk like a curtain ruffling in and out as if through an open window. The voice was smooth and so gentle, a touch deep and still comforting in all its right. It was amazing to listen to and Taeil was taken by it. 

A few months later, and nothing has changed. Settling further into the seat, Taeil looks out the window as blue settles and there is no longer any pleasant harmony in his ear and in his mind. The world moves on around him and he’s left to sit and wonder what it is about  _ Johnny’s Station,  _ about John-D that makes his mind run miles around him. 

It’s all he can think about until, at long last, the bus stops at his condo. The lights are on outside and Yuta’s car (because, yeah, of course he and Dongyoung have a car) which only means one thing - that Sicheng has company. Braving the fact, Taeil inhales before standing from his seat and hiking his bag up his shoulders. He says goodbye to the driver kindly and steps off the last steps onto the front sidewalk of their house. Sure they have neighbors but they’re nice enough and Taeil has never really minded them. He and Sicheng make do with what they have. 

Getting the door open takes another feat of bravery, but Taeil does it and he’s easily met with a bombardment of sound and noise. Yuta’s laugh reverberates through the room and as Taeil shuts the door behind him, he hears Dongyoung’s telltale voice pouting about something or another. 

Though Yuta and Dongyoung were Sicheng’s friends first, they’ve all found themselves in each other easily. The couple are loud and disgusting and maybe even a touch in love with Sicheng, but that’s none of Taeil’s business. 

“Taeil, how was work?” Sicheng asks from the couch before he stands to greet his best friend. Taeil plops his bag down on the couch before he meets Sicheng in a soft hug. 

“Tiring. Yuna spilled coffee and I was left to clean it.” Feeling his friend’s arms tighten around him, Taeil sighs and settles in deeper. Sicheng is always warm and comforting, a rock in his world and the best person Taeil could imagine being beside him. 

When they let go of each other, Sicheng sits back down and Dongyoung and Yuta say hello to him just the same. “Hey, Tae, you gonna have a drink with us?” Dongyoung asks. He already has his hand around the neck of the red wine they’ve downed half of, but Taeil shakes his head. On the way home, he thought he might’ve been okay to sit in the living room and brave the night, but finally being home and without the weight of his bag on his shoulders, he realizes that there’s a whole new weight on his chest and the edges of a headache breaking through. 

“No, that’s alright,” he says, “I’m actually super tired, but you guys have fun! Please, stay as long as you want.” Taeil says goodnight and when they all bid him farewell, Sicheng levels him with a worried look in his eyes. Taeil’s used to this and he just shrugs it off. Sicheng knows if he was needed, Taeil would let him know. 

So the eldest gives them a last goodnight and he disappears into his room. It’s cool and dark and he thanks every higher being that he left his diffuser running. 

He’s drained of everything right now, everything in his day being piled on top of everything else and he knows it’s crazy, but when he pulls his phone and headphones towards himself, he knows he needs it. He thumbs into his radio app and goes to  _ Johnny’s Station.  _ The only episode that pops up is the one that just came on an hour prior, but he doesn’t care. He strips down and puts on gym shorts before plopping himself into bed. His headphones are in and when he presses play on the radio show, he drifts to sleep in hues of blue and drops of gold spark and he doesn’t wake until morning. 

** 

This goes on for a while. Taeil’s usual in and out routine of life goes on and jumps between work and home and work and home and maybe going out with Sicheng and then work and home- it never ends. In between, however, he always manages to find time for  _ Johnny’s Station. _ He’s heard from this allusive John-D so much, he thinks he could point him out in a lineup picked exclusively by voice. 

Of course, that was an exaggeration. He never thought that that day - this day - would come. He really never expected this, not in a million years. 

He’s not even working the counter today, stuck in the back actually making coffees and serving them for a millisecond interaction before he goes back to his isolation, but everything within him stops when he  _ hears  _ that sound. It’s a laugh, one most couldn’t pick out from the crowded noise of business, but Taeil knows exactly who this laugh belongs to. 

It’s in the way that his vision blurs with bursts of gold sprinkles, as if he’s lying on his back and someone has spilled glitter over him. It’s gorgeous and it’s everlasting and Taeil has to grab at the very edge of the counter. He’s never encountered a voice that leaves him literally grasping for some stability and now he’s here, hearing yet not hearing the voices calling his name. 

The laugh dies on its own and Taeil is now all too aware of the hands on his shoulders, Sicheng’s voice in his ear. “-come on back, Taeilie, that’s it.” Sicheng’s sharp eyes are the first thing Taeil comes back to and he looks at him clearly for what feels like the first time in his life. “Hey, you okay? Kinda spaced out there, Yuna got worried.” He reaches a hand up to settle on Sicheng’s hand. He squeezes his best friend’s hand before settling him with a soft smile. 

“I’m fine, Sicheng, it’s okay,” Taeil reassures. It must be enough though because Sicheng goes back to his station and they proceed with their day. 

Well, Taeil tries. 

Except, the voice keeps fading in and fading out and when he laughs, Taeil has to hold the countertops a bit tighter to keep his balance and his sanity. 

And then, the voice comes to the front where Sicheng is. Taeil tunes in closely and listens, traces the melody of his voice and the colors that flash behind his eyelids while he orders his drink, an iced Americano. 

Before the order can even come through to him, he’s already on it, working nimble fingers over all the appliances and ingredients making sure it’s the best damn Americano he’s ever made. 

When he has to put the sticker on it with his name, he pauses to read over it.  _ Youngho,  _ he thinks,  _ what a beautiful name.  _

Taeil grabs the cup and puts the lid on it before going to the pickup counter. There, he spots three different people all in different arrays of paying attention and looking at other things or people around the room, all except for one. 

The man is tall and lean, a white t shirt folded at the sleeves and a kind look on his face. He’s the only one not looking elsewhere, his warm brown eyes like the honey in the glass jars just behind him looking at Taeil. 

Mustering all the courage he can, he walks forward. Taeil smiles lightly. When he reaches the counter, he asks, “Youngho?” of the tall man. Sure enough, he smiles and nods and he takes the cup. 

“Thank you!” he says kindly and Taeil has to grip the counter again to keep from collapsing. The realness of it, how vivid and bright the voice is and in turn, the colors are in his vision makes him reach forward all of a sudden. 

In a low voice, he asks, “Are you John-D?”

Taeil thinks he’s overstepped his boundary and said something completely out of line. This man definitely does not need that ambush so suddenly and for an accusation so wild, so completely crazy and even crazier if he gets it  _ right.  _ It might even be borderline stalker material and-

The tall man -  _ Youngho  _ \- smiles and laughs. He grabs a straw and his drink and he gives Taeil a smile. “You’re the first person who knows.” 

Taeil watches him turn and pick up his friends and then he’s gone from the shop, taking all of the air with him and leaving Taeil to gape at the space where he was all of three seconds ago. 

That night, Taeil is more than giddy about the radio show. 7 can not come any faster and he’s anxious as the minutes wind down - six, then four, then two. He puts his headphones in and he lies back on his bed. He’s grateful that Sicheng has decided to go out for the night because him locking himself in his room isn’t so weird. 

The noisy advertisement before the intro brings him back into the moment and Taeil listens carefully. Any minute now, Youngho is going to speak. He’s going to take form in Johnny and Taeil will only see him in waves of royal blue and falling golden glitter around him. 

Sure enough, Youngho begins talking, his sweet and deep drawl drawing Taeil into the crest of each wave of speech. His voice nestles deep into his chest and makes a home in his stomach, making him feel light and full. 

Youngho talks aimlessly for a litte, plays some songs, answers some questions - the usual. But he pauses for a second too long at one point and chuckles and Taeil sits up curiously. “Today, I met someone.” 

The same feeling that made him feel light and full makes Taeil itch, the pit falling to his stomach and his thoughts running away from him all of a sudden. “They were really nice and not like anyone I’ve ever seen before,” Youngho says, “They stopped me and they asked me if I was John-D, can you believe that? I’ve never had anyone guess who I am.” His voice is light and it morphs in Taeil’s vision, the usual dark blue becoming a gradient of different blues and shades. Youngho is shocked and surprised and it makes Taeil feel warm all over. “It was pretty special. I’m thinking of visiting them again one of these days.” 

And Taeil, well, he really could scream. He can’t believe this is happening to him. 

Just as quickly as the topic came up, it dies down. Youngho moves on with a soft  _ enough about me  _ and he plays a song, an American one Taeil has never heard of, entitled  _ Hello, Stranger. _

**

When Taeil heard directly from Youngho that he was going to stop by again, Taeil expected it the day after. Maybe two days after. Three, tops. 

Not two weeks and counting. 

His life falls flat again into a hopeless loop of work and home and work and home, over and over. Just like before, he’ll go out with Sicheng and Yuta and Dongyoung and spend some time hanging out, but before each shift, he wonders if this will be the one. He wonders if Youngho will come in all soft and gentle and tall and make Taeil feel like no one ever has before. 

It’s a Thursday and it’s rainy, the world outside gray and the atmosphere thick. It’s been like this all day, but he’s only just come in for his afternoon to closing shift. When it’s rainy like this, there’s little possibility of people coming in. The morning shift still gets business like those who need their coffee to survive and such, but even then it’s very little business. In the afternoon shift, however, forget it - Taeil is basically there to look pretty and occupy the blank space. 

It’s not just Taeil though so he and Jiyeon take up the “load” of cleaning and helping the one or two stragglers that decide coffee or a quick treat is completely worth the soaking. 

Around the two hours before closing mark, Jiyeon gets a phone call that Taeil is suprised is coming so late. She does this often with closing shifts where she’ll sit on her phone for a while and then get a strange call about an emergency maybe ten minutes later. 

“Crap, really? - Yeah, yeah, I’ll be home in ten minutes. Don’t worry, Granny, I’ll be right there!” She tucks her phone into her pocket and sighs through her teeth. “Bad news, Taeilie, I have to get home to take care of my grandma. Do you mind if I take off early?” Taeil can’t say no, he’s not heartless even if he’s sure she’s 99% lying, so he just nods her away. There are only a few hours left and he thinks he can handle it on his own. 

So Taeil spends his sad evening the way the universe intended for him. 

And if he’s being entirely honest, while he starts the beginning of each shift thinking  _ this may be the one, _ not even thirty minutes later, his dreams fizzle out. Coming up on the last thirty minutes, well, he resigns to his fate - alone. 

At the end of his shift, he is the only one in the shop. The rain outside hasn’t stopped and there’s been maybe three stragglers, but besides that, Taeil just wants to lock up and get the hell home. He’s already dreading the trip. Maybe he’ll call Yuta and see if he’ll come pick him up.

For now, however, cleaning is his first priority. He heads to the front of the shop and closes up, swinging the sign over to closed and heaving a breath of relief. Even though it’s still raining, he feels much better than he did even seconds prior. He then heads back to the storage closet where the dreaded cleaning supplies are. 

The night moves routinely, stocking, cleaning, straightening up, it’s a regular night. Just as he gets done with stocking up the plastic cups fully and he’s about to shoot Yuta a text, there’s a sudden pounding on the door. 

Taeil jumps from his spot but he hurriedly looks over to the door. There’s a tall figure in all black with their hood up and covering their entire face, looking more ominous to Taeil than anything. He’s actually scared (once this exact scenario panned out for Yuna and ended up with her calling the cops on someone intoxicated beyond trying to break in to the store) and he doesn’t know what to do. It’s pouring outside but the sign by the door obviously says  _ sorry, we’re closed  _ in big blocky letters with a smiley face next to it. There’s no missing it. 

He refuses to get too close to the door, but he does step forward and makes slicing motions across his neck hoping the person on the other end will get it and leave. But they don’t and Taeil is getting exasperated until the stranger reaches up and pulls the hood back. 

“Shit!”Taeil exclaims loudly as he runs towards the door. Now he can see Youngho’s whole face, his eyes still soft and bright despite the fact that he is completely soaked and shelter-less. Taeil makes quick work of the lock and pulls Youngho into him, not caring that he just mopped and he’s getting himself wet. 

Gold glitters Taeil’s vision and he inhales sharply at the sound of Youngho’s laugh filling the space between them. “Thanks for letting me in. I know you’re closed but I wanted to come in and was running late. Is this okay?” He stands there in all his glory, his body trembling slightly and a small smile coming up to his lips with the sincerity he looks at Taeil with. 

And Taeil is  _ stupid  _ infatuated with Youngho and all he can do is nod around the navy that invades his vision. “Shit, we should get you out of that clothes.” 

It takes a little bit of searching, but Taeil eventually finds the stack of clothes Lucas has left over his months working there. He’s about Youngho’s height and build so Taeil grabs him a large tee and jeans, enough to get him into something dry and comfortable, and he hands them off to the other man. “Thank you so much, uh…” 

“Taeil. Moon Taeil, hi.” 

“Hi, Taeil. I’m Seo Youngho. Or Johnny.” 

It isn’t until Youngho ( _ Johnny; John-fucking-D) _ disappears into the bathroom to change that Taeil feels like he can catch his breath. He grips the counter harshly and breathes in and out in even measured breaths. He’s never felt like this in his entire life and he runs over the sound of Youngho’s voice in the empty, open space and the way he said his name made chills run through Taeil’s entire body at an alarming rate. 

He can’t believe Youngho kept on his promise. He’s here, he’s been meaning to come here and visit Taeil - that’s, like, unheard of for him. 

The door down the hall opens up and Taeil forces himself to stand straight and smile. He greets Youngho again happily, the other man holding his wet clothes in a little bundle in his arms. “Right,” he says as he grabs one of the plastic bags they have behind the counter for who knows what reason. “There ya go.” 

They fall back into silence and the rain falls outside harshly. It doesn’t seem to be letting up at all but now that’s only a minor kick to Taeil’s ass. 

The barista turns to the other man who is now in not soaked clothes, but is still shivering in his spot. Taeil wishes so badly that he could do something, anything to warm him up. “Oh, shit,” he exclaims as he remembers his profession and where he’s currently standing, “I’m the worst. Do you want something to drink? I can make literally anything.” Youngho looks up at him with his bottom lip going blue and he nods softly. 

“Anything you want. I think my insides are frozen.” Taeil snickers softly before moving into the back. He gets working on his treasured hot chocolate. It’s his secret weapon he created one day in the shop out of pure boredom and brought home to a sick and dying Sicheng. It probably wasn’t the best remedy, but it was hot and thick and Taeil doesn’t think it was a coincidence that he woke up the next morning with a broken fever. 

He works diligently, moving all over the machines and getting everything set up perfectly from the whipped cream to the chocolatey gooey sauce that goes on top of his drink of wonders. 

Not five minutes later, Taeil has his drink of chocolaty goodness with thick cream on top and melty syrup to match presented for Youngho. The other man looks at it with amazement in his eyes and then looks up to Taeil, eyes still shining with something that Taeil reads is gratefulness. “Thank you, Taeil.” 

Taeil has to keep a straight face as he settles into the seat across from Youngho. The taller man takes the mug and lifts it to his mouth, a deep inhale of the chocolate making him sag cutely. “Fuck, this smells incredible.” His sudden swear makes Taeil chuckle. The color that invades his vision circles in a dark wave of almost royal blue and it makes Taeil’s head spin with it. He doesn’t know what’s better - hearing Youngho’s soft laugh or hearing the way his voice drops around a swear. 

As if it could get any worse for him, Youngho takes a large sip of the drink and a sweet moan slips from between his chocolate mustached lips. Taeil's knuckles go white with the way he grips the edge of the table. The sudden onslaught of every shade of blue in his vision makes his head spin. He has to hone it hard to listen to Youngho compliment him. “This is really amazing, Taeil.” He takes another hearty sip and falls lax all over again. His lower lip no longer appears blue and Taeil focuses on his sagged position, grateful for the point of focus that isn't the moan still ringing in his ear. 

Comfortably, Taeil sits and watches Youngho drink. Rain trails down the windows and casts dancing shadows across the linoleum and tables of the shop, making everything look gloomy and sleepy. It casts the lightest blue over Youngho's features, the curve of his cupid's bow, the slope of his nose, the tongue that comes forward to lick at the spot of chocolate on the edge of the cup.

Taeil thinks of the rainy night he spent listening to John-D's playlist on repeat. He remembers tracing the shape of enhanced rain drops on his opposite wall and listening to the same music John-D did and imagining it was him he was with.

Now he's here and he's a real person, vulnerable and a bit shy and soft around the edges in a way someone so big and broad has never looked in Taeil's eyes.

The blue suits him, Taeil thinks longingly, thinking of what Youngho might look like painted blue with twinkles of golden freckles dotting his cheeks. 

Taeil shakes his head of the thoughts noticing he’s been staring and making no conversation at all with the other man. He leans back comfortably and throws a curious nod to the window. “Do you think it’ll stop coming down any time soon?” 

It seems like the world is completely against Taeil as bright white light flashes through the shop and a smooth  _ crack  _ of thunder sounds out as soon as his question is out.  _ Of course.  _

The lights begin to flicker, the tone shifting from white and then to a muted yellow and back to white before finally, all the power goes out. The two men are plunged into darkness and the rain pelts down outside anyway. 

Youngho makes a soft sound in his throat. “I don’t think so.” 

And now the two of them are stuck around the same booth, a candle on the table between them and their dead phones beside it. 

The rain is coming down harder and honestly, Taeil’s running out of the energy to stay awake and Youngho just sits in front of him waiting expectedly for something to happen when he sits forward. 

“So,” he says in a breath, “got any alcohol in this joint?” 

A year ago, in a spur of the moment decision when Taeil was about ready to quit and go backpacking in the country with whatever was still in his savings, he brought in a large glass of vodka hoping it was enough to get him fired. It was completely stupid and when he got to work, he realized it and quickly stashed the glass in the far corner on the tallest shelf of the supply closet where no one would ever find it but him. 

Now, Taeil thanks idiot him and rushes back to said closet. He has to stretch up hard, even bring the stool forward, and touch his fingertips around until they meet the hard glass of the bottle. It’s lukewarm and probably disgusting by now but if Youngho wants booze, then booze he will get! 

“Ta-da!” Taeil exclaims when he retrieves it and takes it into the main space. Youngho hollers loudly and gets up to the front counter. Taeil hands off the bottle and Youngho takes it graciously. “Let me get some ice and cups.” 

Before he can turn though, Younghojumps up on the counter. “Or,” he says mischievously. He pulls the lid off the bottle. “We could just pass it between us?” 

Yeah, Taeil likes the sound of that quite a bit. 

Youngho takes the first big gulp and he laughs through it when a drop of it runs down his chin. Taeil feels warm all over and he hasn’t even had a drop of alcohol yet. Taeil thinks he’d like to get drunk on Youngho for the rest of his life. 

They pass the bottle between the two of them until it’s about half gone, liquor sitting warm and heavy in their stomachs. Youngho takes back another swig and then levels Taeil with a curious look. "So, Mister Taeil," he slurs with lidded eyes. Taeil doesn't miss the cute lisp that circles his words even more now. "I have a question!"

Youngho touches his arm lightly and leans into him with a laugh. "H-how did you know 'bout Johnny?" The question throws Taeil for a loop. He's noticeably more sober than Youngho so he has to pay attention to holding the other man steady with a hand on his side. "No one else has ever guessed! And y-you did. Did Jae tell you? Do you know Hyolyn?"

Taeil looks at him with wide, questioning eyes. Is Youngho drunk enough that Taeil can hope a slip of the mouth won't ruin him? Is Taeil sober enough to even stop himself?

"I saw your voice."

Well.

Youngho shoots back to a fully sitting position. He looks far away and a little confused, his eyebrows creased together. Just as fast as his face morphed into one of sudden bewilderment and amusement alike, it turned to a full disbelieving smile. "You're druuunk~ You can't see voices!" Youngho giggles with giddiness and Taeil swears he sees stars.

He really should not respond, maybe say he was just joking, but instead, Taeil says, "I can see yours. It's blue and gold. I heard it on the show and when you came in I saw it again." And  _ wow  _ drunk Taeil really has zero filter. He tries to remind himself to apologize to Sicheng for anything he's ever said at all under the influence in his whole life

Youngho doesn't speak. He looks at Taeil like he's grown another head while simultaneously bringing the bottle up to his lips. He takes a sloppy sip, Taeil watching the motion his lips make around the bottle. Suddenly, Youngho sits up straighter and points at him. "I like this game. Um, your voice is red! Wait, no, yellow! No~ it's purple."

Shivers run down Taeil's spine. It's not the same, but Youngho is trying to understand. He's making an effort, no matter how minimal or simplistic, to relate to him. It makes every nerve ending in his body simmer. 

No one has ever known about Taeil’s condition. There’s no one in the world besides his own mother who knows what he sees and when he sees it. But now Youngho knows, for better or for worse, and Taeil likes that he can tell someone. Even if Youngho will return to his life in the morning and not remember a bit of this night. 

“I like purple. Thank you, Johnny,” Taeil says in slurs. He’s too tired - and drunk - to notice he’s said the wrong name, but Youngho somehow catches on. He paws at Taeil’s shoulders until the barista gets right in front of him. 

“Y’ called me Johnny,” he says quietly, his lips pulled at either end into a smile. “I like how you say it.” Youngho presses against his back, his head resting on his shoulder. “Should call me Johnny now.” 

Taeil’s stomach twists on itself, bursts of calm and excitement somehow flowing through every part of his body and up through his fingertips. The mix of energy and his startling lack of any kind of self control works against him when he says, “Maybe I should just call you.” It’s the smoothest thing Taeil has ever said and that’s definitely saying something about the same man who drunkenly asked Yuta once if he wanted to go to his room with Dongyoung sitting right next to them. Not his proudest moment. 

But this one, well, Taeil feels pretty proud of himself. If he can’t woo Youngho like this, he doesn’t know what will. 

Neither of them speak for a while. Taeil is waiting for something, anything, to decipher whether he’s made an ass of himself or not. All he can do is track of movement of Youngho’s body and the sound of his breathing going slower and slower and deeper and stiller and- 

Damn it. 

Taeil pokes the other man’s side and when he doesn’t respond in the slightest, Taeil sighs. His one chance at being smooth has gone down the drain just like that. 

But he can’t complain - he doesn’t really mind Youngho sleeping on him like this. He could wax poetry for days on end about how gorgeous this man is, how his voice makes everything feel light and wondrous, how Taeil had never in a million years imagined this would be him, with Youngho ( _ John-D _ ) at his side like an angel sent specifically for Taeil. 

His daydreaming comes to an abrupt halt with the sound of sudden banging on the glass. Taeil jumps in surprise but Youngho doesn’t react a bit that’s how knocked out he is. The banging doesn’t stop, only continues and continues to give him a headache, so Taeil has to worm his way around much bigger limbs than he’s used to until Youngho is at least safe enough on the counter not to roll off and die. 

It’s only then that Taeil notices how the storm outside has died down along with his sobriety. He’s been seeing nothing but blue for the past hour and knocked out of his moment, he’s half surprised they’re even still in the store. The knocking comes in a touch louder and Taeil sighs before rushing up to it. In any other case, he would not be so ready to open this door in the middle of the night and let whoever is on the other side in without question, but now that seems his only course of action. 

He gets the door unlocked and open and the other person rushes into his space, wrapping him up in a hug. Taeil would be very alarmed if not for the way Sicheng smells like home. 

“Taeil,” he sighs, voice obviously shaken, “I thought something happened to you. Why didn’t you come home? And who is that? Why is he dying on your counter?” Sicheng moves into the shop and attends to Youngho who (thankfully) hasn’t moved an inch. “He’s out cold. Where did you get vodka? Jesus, Taeil, how are we gonna get him home?” Sicheng is quick to cap the bottle up and tidy up the place before their manager comes in the next morning and can fire them both at the drop of a hat. 

“Find a phone on him and call the last person he texted.” 

Taeil gets to work and eventually finds a phone on him. He and Sicheng work together to manhandle Youngho and make him look aware enough for the face id to work until they can get into his phone and maneuver to the texts. 

He finds the first contact entitled  _ jaeby  _ with a heart next to it and he calls the number. It picks up on the second ring. 

“Johnny, bro, what’s up? Where are you?” The other man is speaking in very clear English and Taeil has to stumble to catch himself. 

“No English, Korean?” 

“Yeah, sorry, who is this?” 

“Taeil. Uh, your friend is drunk I don’t know where he lives.” 

“Shit, I’ll come get him. Where are you?” 

“Java Star Bakery.” 

All sounds from the other end of the call halt. “Why is Johnny drunk in his favorite bakery?” 

“You can ask him that.” 

The call with Jaeby ends quickly after that with a promise of him being there within minutes. When taeil hangs up, Sicheng is nowhere to be found, leaving him and Youngho and Youngho’s phone. 

Still riding this high of confidence, he taps into the contacts and without thinking, puts in his number and entitles it  _ Taeil Barista  _ for clarity. He’s about to turn off the phone and put it back, but he gets to thinking. Youngho has a lot of contacts and he easily gets lost in the mess. Plus, who goes into their contacts list? 

Taking a deep breath, he sends himself a quick message, a simple  _ hi  _ and nothing else so it’ll sit at the top of the messages app, unmissable. 

Taeil turns the phone off and settles it back into Youngho’s pocket just as Sicheng comes back from the kitchen area. “That hot chocolate is good but horrible to clean off.” Sicheng looks over the kitchen and makes sure it’s spotless. “Finally, this place looks good. Did you call someone?” 

Sicheng situates himself at Youngho’s side and Taeil goes to the other, the two of them holding him up and situated. “Yeah, his friend said he’ll be here soon.” 

Getting Youngho out is a feat all on its own. He’s a big man and even working together the two of them struggle holding him up. As soon as they get outside a car pulls up beside them and another tall man meets them halfway. “Hey, I’m Jaehyun. Which one of you is Taeil?” 

Taeil raises his free hand. Jaehyun gets to his side and settles a sturdy hand on Youngho’s waist. Taeil can’t stifle the jealousy that rises in his chest at the action, but he stands back and lets the other do his thing. He can carry Youngho easily with just one hand and then he sets him in the car, the other man curling up in his seat adorably. Taeil kind of wants to get in too so he can be the one to nurse his sickness and watch over him but he refrains. 

“Thanks for watching out for him. I’ll let him know you found him.” Taeil wants to scream, tell him that he really doesn’t need to say anything about this night, but Jaehyun’s already in his side of the car, ready to head home. 

Drunk and dramatic, Taeil falls into Sicheng’s side. “Now you wanna explain what’s happening, buddy?” 

Taeil passes out in the car and when he wakes up, he’s being carried to his room by Sicheng before he falls out all over again. 

The next time he wakes up, it’s morning and his head feels significantly less like death than it did the night before. He’s almost convinced himself that he imagined the entire thing. Anything would be better than remembering half of the things he said or did last night. 

Like a beacon of hope, Sicheng is in the kitchen when Taeil emerges from his room. It smells incredible, bacon and eggs patties and coffee to match. “Good morning, wreck,” Sicheng says lovingly. He plates up some food and puts it in front of his clearly incapable friend. “By the way, your phone’s been going off ‘cause of some random number.” 

Taeil spits out the bite he just took. He’s up and out of his seat as fast as possible and heads to the charging station to find his phone plugged in. He taps into it quickly and sure enough the number and its messages come up. With shaky fingers, Taeil clicks into the message thread, his heart pounding out of his chest. 

_ sorry about last night getting drunk and stuff but thank you for letting me in  _

_ i did want to see you again but not liek that  _

_ we should go out sometime so you can tell me more about my voice colors :)  _

_ also so you can pay for my hangover cure in food :)) _

Taeil has to stare at the phone for a few more seconds, completely in shock. He can hear Youngho’s voice in his head now, he can picture the way that his lips curve around the words and how he smiles and laughs like stars falling from the sky and glittering his vision. 

Bringing his phone to his face, he taps into the little box. 

_ i’d like that very much  _  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday johnny u r my everything <3


End file.
